Season 1 was one of the best series I've seen in TV. I'm not sure if the rest of the season lives up to it. Or I could be wrong. I remember the start of Season 2 was kinda slow.
3 is a lot of people's favorite season and I understand why. The show is just very, very good.
2 holds up better than any other season and it’s not actually that close.
(1) Is the best-told story in the series.
(2) Is great for all the reasons you'd say it is. For me, it's where they first really stick the landing on Baltimore being the main character of the show, rather than it being just an HBO version of Homicide.
There is a lot of distance between 3 and 5, but there isn't that much difference between 1, 2, 3, and 4; I could see how anybody would pick any of those as their favorite, though (4) is the clear right answer.
- It has few likable bad guys
- ziggy is annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnoying and a lot of people don't want to watch a 12 episode train wreck.
- it's totally different than season 1
3 has the most epic plot swing, but I know people who really found hamsterdam unbelievable.
4 is quite tight, but it's about schools, maybe it didn't jive with you. I thought it was great.
5 has issues because it was about too new of a phenomenon (tried to pull in the NYT's journalist making up stories which had happened a year before). The rest of the stories backing the seasons were about well digested topics they could be quite sage on. I actually really like season 5.
Also the wrap up to the series (the outtro) is amazing end to a series IMHO.
Season 5 is a mess.
"did he have hands? did he have a face? yes? then it wasn't us. idiot." fucking brutal.
it's interesting that, aside from certain politicians, the greeks are the only people that really "win" in the show.
The whole season 2 is about how people turn into criminals and why. This time it happens to white working class men and this is one of the reasons I find the second season essential.